Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP210041S
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00:01 Hello, friends welcome to 3ABN Sabbath Group Panel.
00:02 I'm John Lomacang. 00:04 And thank you for taking the time 00:05 to join us in our excursion 00:07 through the Word of God. 00:09 The second quarter's lesson is Moses' history lesson 00:13 and the overall theme 00:14 is Present Truth in Deuteronomy. 00:17 What a powerful book. 00:19 One of the most quoted books in the life of Jesus. 00:22 If you'd like to get a copy of that, 00:23 you can do it one of two ways. 00:25 Go to ABSG.adventist.org and download a copy. 00:30 Or better yet, 00:31 go to your local Seventh Day Adventist Church, 00:33 walk in, tell them 3ABN sent you 00:36 and join them together 00:38 for an exciting time 00:40 as we study God's Word. 00:41 But don't go away, we'll be right back 00:43 for this powerful lesson study. 01:15 Hello, friends. 01:16 Welcome to 3ABN Sabbath school panel. 01:18 I'm John Lomacang. 01:19 Thank you for taking the time to join us. 01:21 We always enjoy your company, even though we don't see you, 01:26 we know you are there. 01:28 We get your letters. 01:29 We've heard the people comment 01:30 how this is one of their favorite programs. 01:33 It's one of ours too because it's keeping us in sync 01:36 with the world church everywhere you go on the world. 01:39 When I was in Myanmar year ago, 01:40 I saw their Sabbath School lesson. 01:42 I couldn't read it at all. 01:43 But the picture on the cover told me 01:45 they were following the same lesson. 01:46 So thank you from 01:48 wherever you're joining us from. 01:49 We have a great panel today to my immediate less... 01:51 My immediate left. 01:53 I'm James and he is... 01:55 John. Don't take my name. 01:58 I am John, he's James. 01:59 That's right. We are the Sons of Thunder. 02:02 I did that intentionally to see if you could catch it. 02:04 Good to have you here, James. 02:05 Your second lesson with us. 02:07 We're really breaking you and aren't we? 02:08 Good to be here, John? Yeah, it's a blessing. 02:10 And are you ready for the lesson? 02:12 I'm going to feed right off you whatever you share. 02:14 I'm going to just go with that. 02:16 Okay. Okay. Ready to go. 02:17 And one of my favorite Bible students 02:19 who always has it put together very well, I appreciate that. 02:22 Jill, good to have you here. 02:24 Thank you so much, Pastor John. 02:25 We have nine takeaways today. 02:26 Nine? Nine. 02:28 Wow. And the lady from Texas. 02:30 Shelley, how you doing? I'm fine. 02:32 I have too many notes. But I'm fine. 02:36 And way down there the sing in Israel. 02:38 Are you ready? Always I am. 02:39 Sometimes, sometimes you break out 02:41 in the middle of the lesson sing a song. 02:44 You never know. Watch out. 02:46 When inspiration happens. That's right. 02:48 Would you begin with our prayer today? 02:49 Absolutely. 02:51 Father in Heaven, Lord, we are so thankful 02:53 and so joyous and excited to be 02:55 on this panel once more to be meeting 02:57 with all of our friends and family 02:59 around the world right now. 03:00 Wherever they are, 03:01 we just thank You for those watching. 03:03 And, Lord, we are opening Your Word today. 03:04 And we dare not go any further 03:06 without asking for the spiritual guidance 03:07 of Your Holy Spirit, 03:09 to give us the mind of Christ, spiritual discernment, 03:12 and understanding to rightly divide Your Word of truth. 03:14 May we be drawn to Jesus Christ because of this study, 03:17 as we go through the history of Moses. 03:20 Lord, take us through this 03:21 and help us to see you and Your love. 03:24 We ask in Jesus' Holy Name. 03:26 Amen. Amen. 03:28 You know, one of my people that 03:31 I really like to hear talk is Clifford Goldstein. 03:34 He always reminds me what's good about New York. 03:37 And he's got a great New York accent. 03:40 And he's a great writer. 03:41 And we talked about this, 03:43 his writing style was interesting, Jill, 03:45 because it was not necessarily an order, 03:47 but it was in themes. 03:48 Yes. 03:50 And this is something we're going to enjoy very much. 03:51 And I like this one because it's about history. 03:55 I've been here at 3ABN now 18 years, 03:57 and I look back and think, "Wow, what a history." 04:01 And we all can take a time to pause in our lives 04:04 when we look at where we are. 04:06 And we pause and ask ourselves the question, 04:10 how did we get there? 04:11 Well, you know, the Lord is so wonderful. 04:13 He declares the end from the beginning. 04:15 And from ancient times, things that are not yet done. 04:19 He took an abandoned child, left at a babysitter, 04:23 and has given him the opportunity 04:25 to be a Son of the Most High God. 04:27 I've talked about that. 04:28 Because I look at the life of Moses, 04:30 I look at the life of Abraham, 04:32 I look at how God's prophets and apostles have been 04:36 able to unfold as a flower in the course of human history. 04:40 And yet, if they were not planted in God, 04:43 it would never have happened. 04:44 Amen. 04:45 You know, the lesson today on Sunday, 04:48 brings out our memory text. 04:50 And it's 1 Corinthians 10:3-4. 04:53 I'll read that for you. 04:54 1 Corinthians 10:3-4. 04:58 And I believe that is it or that's it. 05:00 Am I correct? 05:02 I thought I was correct. 05:03 1 Corinthians 10:3-4. 05:05 Notice, and this is a history passage, 05:08 Paul the Apostle taking a clip out of the life 05:12 and the journey of the children of Israel. 05:14 The Bible says in verse three, 05:16 "All at the same spiritual food, 05:19 all drank the same spiritual drink, 05:23 for they drank of that spiritual rock 05:25 that follow them, and that rock was Christ." 05:30 I believe that we're going to each deal 05:32 with portions of 1 Corinthians 10. 05:35 But Deuteronomy is a history lesson. 05:38 When you study Deuteronomy, 05:39 look at Exodus you make the comparison. 05:41 Exodus was the book that has recorded 05:44 the early followers of Moses 05:49 as he led them out of the land of Egypt. 05:53 But they had children 05:55 that were clueless about what was taking place. 05:58 Can you imagine the infants 05:59 that came out of the land of Egypt, 06:01 they had no idea where they were going, 06:02 they just knew they were with mom 06:04 or the little boys and girls on the ox cart 06:07 with their dads just enjoying the journey, 06:09 maybe thinking they're on the picnic, 06:11 having no clue that they were being rescued 06:14 from the bondage of the tyranny of the land of Egypt. 06:18 So years later, 06:20 as the torture is passed 06:21 from leadership to leadership, 06:23 these children now grown up, 06:25 and they have to remember 06:26 why they're out here still, 06:28 40 years later in the wilderness, 06:30 "Why are we still out here? 06:32 I thought this is going to be a short day trip. 06:34 Why are we still out here?" 06:36 So what I'm going to do today 06:37 is look at the remembrance of the Book of Deuteronomy. 06:41 The Book of Deuteronomy mentions 06:43 a word remember, 14 times. 06:47 And I thought, how interesting when you talk about history, 06:50 how wonderful it is to tie the two together, 06:54 marry history and remembrance 06:56 from the Book of Deuteronomy. 06:57 But this is a quotation that 07:00 the Lord servant Ellen White records about us. 07:04 And this will segue into the story 07:06 of what I unfold in my six points, 07:10 okay, not nine, but six. 07:12 She says in the book, Live Sketches, page 196. 07:16 She says, "In reviewing our past history, 07:20 having traveled over every step of advance, 07:23 to our present standing, 07:25 I am filled with astonishment 07:26 and with confidence in Christ as leader, 07:29 we have nothing to fear for the future, 07:32 except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us 07:36 and His teaching in our past history." 07:39 And you know when you think about that 07:40 the life of the children of Israel 07:42 are indelibly recorded today for our admonition 07:46 as Paul says on whom 07:48 the ends of the world is come. 07:51 The end of the age has come. 07:54 But one of the first things 07:55 I want to point out is an Exodus 32:29. 07:58 And then we're going to go into the six points. 08:00 But this is interesting 08:02 because in the history of Moses, 08:04 he gave instruction to the children of Israel. 08:06 And this instruction is pertinent to us today. 08:09 In Exodus 32: 29, Moses said, 08:13 "Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord that 08:18 He may bestow on you a blessing this day, 08:21 for every man has opposed His son and His brother." 08:27 Now it came to pass on the next day. 08:29 Then Moses said to the people, in verse 30, 08:32 "You have committed a great sin. 08:34 So now I will go up to the Lord, 08:36 perhaps I can make atonement for your sin." 08:40 Verse 31, "Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, 08:44 'Oh, these people have committed a great sin 08:46 and have made for themselves a god of gold. 08:49 Yet now, in verse 32, 08:50 if you will forgive their sins, 08:52 but if not, I pray, blot me out of your book, 08:55 which you have written.'" 08:57 Now some people don't grab it here but, 08:59 in this context, 09:01 Moses was somewhat of a mediator 09:04 between Israel and God 09:07 because he was seeking to atone. 09:09 He said, 'Lord, 09:11 if you don't blot their sins out, 09:12 blot my name out.' 09:14 What an exchange, can you imagine that? 09:16 Either you forgive them or just don't let me live. 09:19 I don't want eternal life 09:21 if they're not going to be 09:23 forgiven of their transgression. 09:25 That's a huge decision to make. 09:27 But one of the first things 09:28 he pointed out was consecration. 09:31 And the reason why they had been 09:33 so delirious in their sin is 09:35 because they didn't consecrate their hearts. 09:37 Let me encourage you, 09:39 if you want to be a blessing to someone, 09:40 the first thing you have to do to be 09:42 an instrument in the hands of God, 09:44 is you have to pray for the Lord 09:45 to consecrate your mind, 09:47 your life, your thoughts, 09:48 your words, your deeds, your actions, 09:50 even the things you communicate. 09:52 Say, Lord, consecrate them. 09:54 It's the first criteria 09:56 which is something that has to happen 09:58 by self-examination and self-sacrifice, 10:02 which takes me to the remembrances. 10:05 When the people forgot it was Moses' responsibility 10:10 to remind them. 10:11 Let's look at the first remembrance 10:12 Deuteronomy 5:15. 10:15 Deuteronomy 5:15, the first remember, 10:18 "And remember that you were a slave 10:21 in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God 10:24 brought you out from there by a mighty hand 10:27 and by an outstretched arm, 10:29 therefore the Lord your God commanded you 10:32 to keep the Sabbath day." 10:35 You know, that's something amazing. 10:37 He said God didn't bring you out on a wimp around, 10:39 he brought you out with a mighty hand. 10:41 He stood up against a monolith of a nation, 10:45 the Egyptian army, 10:46 one of the strongest nations of that time, 10:50 the Lord brought them out with the mighty hand. 10:51 So he had the right to ask them and to command them. 10:55 "I do this for you. 10:56 I'm commanding you to do this because of that." 11:00 The remembrance was, 11:01 "You used to be slaves, now you're free. 11:03 And the end the parameter of your freedom is obedience, 11:07 obedience to My commandments, obedience to the Sabbath day." 11:12 The second one, the second obedience, 11:13 or the second remembrance is Deuteronomy 7:18. 11:17 What does he say? 11:19 "You are not to be afraid of them, 11:21 you shall remember well what the Lord your God 11:26 did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt." 11:28 You know, nobody can fight your battle like God can. 11:31 Amen. 11:32 He says, "If you remember how I fought your past battles, 11:35 you will never fear your future enemies." 11:38 That's what He was saying to them. 11:40 "Don't worry about what's ahead of you. 11:41 Remember what I did in Egypt. 11:42 So when you get to the promised land, 11:44 when you get to the border, 11:45 and you meet up the Amalekites and Hittites and Jebusites, 11:47 and Amorites, and Hittites and Hivites, 11:49 and all the other ites that are there, 11:51 "Hey, don't feel like this is a point of defeat. 11:54 Just remember what I did in the past." 11:57 The third remember is God testing their loyalty, 12:00 God testing their loyalty. 12:02 Deuteronomy 8:2, here's what the Bible says." 12:06 And you shall remember that 12:07 the Lord your God led you all the way 12:11 these 40 years in the wilderness, 12:14 to what, to humble you and test you, 12:16 to know what was in your heart, 12:18 whether you would keep His commandments or not." 12:21 God always test us. 12:22 The third test was a test of loyalty. 12:25 God wants us to be a loyal people. 12:27 And he will bring us to the points of test, 12:29 even though we don't see what's in us. 12:31 I read a quote recently that Ellen White says, 12:33 God will allow us to face trials 12:36 and temptations to reveal in us 12:37 what we didn't even know was there. 12:39 And then he'll give us the opportunity to remedy that 12:42 it says number four, God's provision. 12:45 Deuteronomy 8:18. 12:47 "And you shall remember the Lord your God, 12:49 for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, 12:51 that He may establish His covenant 12:54 which He swore to your fathers, 12:56 as it is this day." 12:58 Some of you successful Christians 12:59 think that is 13:00 because you had a great financial plan, back up. 13:03 You couldn't have a financial plan 13:04 if God didn't give your health. 13:06 It's not your bank account balance, 13:08 it's God's grace balance 13:10 that makes a difference in your life. 13:11 So when you get wealthy, 13:13 don't forget that God is the one 13:14 who gave you that power, 13:16 that strength, that health to get that wealth. 13:19 The next remembrance is Deuteronomy 9:7. 13:22 What about your rebellion?" 13:24 Remember! 13:25 Do not forget how you provoked 13:27 the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. 13:30 From the day that you departed 13:32 from the land of Egypt until you came to this place, 13:36 you have been rebellious against the Lord." 13:38 What a way to pay God back. 13:40 When God is blessing you 13:41 don't pay him back by rebellion. 13:44 And we're all at some point 13:45 or another have been guilty of that. 13:47 And finally, this one 13:49 I like he brings the family in Deuteronomy 32:7, 13:52 he brings in the genealogy, 13:55 if you forget about your roots, 13:58 and start behaving like somebody 13:59 that your parents not proud of, here are words for you. 14:03 Deuteronomy 32:7, "Remember the days of old, 14:07 Consider the years of many generations. 14:09 Ask your father, 14:10 and he will show you, your elders, 14:12 and they will tell you behave like 14:14 somebody that your family 14:16 would be proud of your genealogy." 14:18 Amen. Amen. 14:19 Yeah, good stuff. 14:21 It continues on here in the next lesson, 14:25 which is Monday's lesson. 14:30 Deuteronomy 1:1-6. 14:33 It's really interesting 14:34 because here we have kind of a connection 14:37 with our last week's lessons. 14:41 Deuteronomy 6:1-6. 14:42 Let's just read those verses quickly. 14:46 "These be the words which Moses spake 14:49 unto all Israel on this side Jordan 14:50 in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, 14:53 between Paran, and Tophel, 14:54 and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 14:57 And there are 11 days' journey 15:00 from Horeb by the way of mount Seir 15:02 unto Kadesh-Barnea. 15:05 And it came to pass in the fortieth year." 15:07 Eleven days journey, 15:08 let's see, 40 years minus 11 days. 15:11 "In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, 15:13 on the first day of the month, 15:14 that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, 15:15 according unto all that the Lord 15:17 had given him in commandment unto them." 15:19 So just pause here for a second. 15:22 This verse is significant 15:24 because this verse is reminding them 15:26 of the last 40 years of their history. 15:29 This verse right here is reminding them that 15:32 even though the journey was very short. 15:34 Initially, it was supposed to be very short, 15:36 that they have been in the wilderness for 40 years. 15:39 And the reason they've been in the wilderness for 40 years 15:41 is because they refuse to believe the promises of God. 15:47 We talked about that in our earlier lessons, 15:49 the promises of God 15:51 are the basis of the New Covenant, 15:53 the promises of God are the basis 15:54 of all of God's promises or covenants to us. 15:57 The covenant to Abraham was based upon his promises, 15:59 not our promises. 16:01 We talked about how we make bad promises. 16:03 And so these children are being reminded 16:07 of why they have taken 40 years to go on a journey 16:11 that should have just taken a few weeks. 16:13 "Why it takes so long in our lives to get 16:16 to the place God wants us to be. 16:17 Why is it?" 16:18 Because we don't believe His promises? 16:20 We fail, we fall, we fall short. 16:22 We don't trust in the promises of God. 16:25 Instead, we trust in ourselves. 16:27 Even when they didn't go into the Promised Land, 16:30 they decided, "Well, wait a minute, 16:32 wait a minute, maybe God is right, 16:33 maybe we shouldn't do this." 16:34 And they decided, let's try it. 16:36 They were still doing it on their own strength. 16:38 They were still trying it themselves. 16:40 And that's the natural tendency of our fallen human nature, 16:45 self-sufficiency to rely upon ourselves. 16:48 Of course, we as preachers and teachers, 16:50 are just as liable as anyone else to do that. 16:53 As we grow, especially, 16:55 we know the Word of God, 16:56 we've been in the Word of God for so long, 16:58 and we know these things. 16:59 And so we are more liable to not trust into, 17:04 not rest in the Holy Spirit, but to rely upon ourselves. 17:07 And so God reminds us over and over again. 17:09 And he reminds them here in Deuteronomy, 17:10 chapter one, verse three, 17:12 he reminds them of what's going on. 17:14 They've been gone for 40 years 17:16 wandering through the wilderness. 17:17 I don't know if your life has been like that. 17:20 But they are now ready to go in. 17:22 God wants to take them into the Promised Land. 17:24 That's the good news. 17:25 God is wanting to take all of us 17:27 into the Promised Land, so to speak. 17:30 It's time, it's time, it's time. 17:31 And when God's time comes, 17:33 we've got to remember the one lesson 17:35 and that is that God's going to do 17:37 what He promised to do in His time. 17:39 Now we see this all through the Bible. 17:41 I mean, there are time prophecies from Noah 17:44 and the 120 years that He was going to preach, 17:47 coming down to the captivity of Israel in Egypt 130 years, 17:51 and moving into the captivity of Israel 17:54 in Babylon for 7 years. 17:56 And then we've got the time prophecies 17:57 that deal with the Messiah, 17:58 the 2300 day prophecy, broken up into 70 weeks, 18:02 focusing on Christ. 18:04 And then out of that, 18:05 we see the 1290, the 1260 to 1335, 18:09 taking us down to 1844, 18:11 we've got a 1391 and two weeks. 18:13 We've got all kinds of time prophecies in the Bible that 18:16 remind us not have days and years and events 18:20 as much as they are to remind us 18:22 that God is going to accomplish 18:25 what He has promised to accomplish in His time. 18:30 And there's nothing you can do to change that. 18:32 Now we know that God's love 18:34 and we know that God has laid out 18:36 the sequence of prophecy Daniel 2, 18:38 Daniel 7, Daniel 8, Daniel 11, 18:41 all these prophecies were there with Daniel 9, 18:43 to remind us that God has a plan. 18:45 And He wants us, he encourages us, 18:47 He draws us to step into that plan. 18:50 That's what He was doing with the children of Israel. 18:52 That's what He was reminding them of, 18:54 in verse three of Deuteronomy 1. 18:56 "Hey, in the 40th year, 18:57 might the time has come, I told you. 18:58 We're going to be wandering 40 years, 19:00 now it's time to go in." 19:01 And God is doing the same thing with us, friends, 19:03 He's reminding us to all these time prophecies, 19:06 you know, Adventists are in... 19:07 Time prophecy is in our blood. 19:09 We're just into it. 19:10 I mean, and we just can't seem to stop, you know? 19:12 We've been told a time no longer, Revelation 10. 19:15 But we want to keep going. 19:17 But God is telling us something through all of this, 19:19 He's saying, "Listen, I have a time, 19:21 I have a plan, I have a purpose. 19:23 Stick with My plan. 19:25 Don't trust in your own plan." 19:26 When we stick with God's plan, 19:27 it tells us His Word is certain. 19:29 It's sure. It's going to happen. 19:31 And we need that today. 19:33 We need the surety of God's Word today. 19:35 And so what happens is many times 19:37 we step out of God's plan. 19:38 You know, God is love 19:39 and He has a purpose and a plan for us. 19:42 But sometimes we step out of that plan, 19:44 and we see evil and we see wickedness 19:46 and we see pain and sorrow taking place all around us. 19:49 And sometimes we say, 19:50 "Well, that's God's fault, you know, 19:51 God's in control of everything." 19:53 And then we read Daniel 2 and we think, 19:54 "Well, God knows, He sets up kings, 19:56 He brings down kings, 19:57 He knows everything's going to happen, 19:58 He's orchestrated all this." 20:00 No, it's very clear, even in the Lord's prayer. 20:02 Jesus says, "We need to pray to be delivered from evil." 20:05 Well, if God is in charge of everything, 20:07 then we're praying to be delivered from God. 20:09 No, we're not praying to be delivered from God. 20:11 God has a plan. 20:13 And He wants us to get on top of that, 20:14 He wants us to be in harmony with that, 20:16 He wants us to be connected with Him in that plan. 20:18 If we're not, our choices, our decisions individually 20:22 and collectively are going to bring evil. 20:23 And God wants us to pray that 20:25 His kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven. 20:29 He wants to pray that 20:30 we would be delivered from that evil 20:32 which starts with deliverance from our own self will, 20:35 our own self-sufficiency, 20:37 our reliance on ourselves 20:38 instead over reliance upon God. 20:40 And so God says, 20:41 even if you mess up, remember this now 20:44 because we've been talking about this, 20:46 even if you fail, even if you begin 20:48 by basing my covenant on your promises, 20:51 I can recover you. 20:53 What does it say in Romans 8? 20:54 It says, "All things work together for good." 20:57 Even the bad things? 20:58 Yes, even the bad things that God never intended 21:00 to come on planet Earth, 21:01 even those can work together for good. 21:04 You know, we see that all through the Old Testament. 21:07 We see it in the story of Joseph, 21:08 right, his brothers sold him into Egypt, you know? 21:10 Sold him into slavery, and what did God do, 21:12 He brought redemption out of that, 21:14 not redemption, 21:15 just for Israel and for the world, 21:17 not just physical redemption, 21:18 but He brought 21:20 spiritual redemption out of that. 21:22 He brought Joseph to a place 21:24 where he could forgive his brothers 21:26 before they were even in his presence 21:28 before he even test 21:29 whether or not their characters have changed. 21:31 And that's what he wants to do with us. 21:33 He wants us to follow the lamb, 21:35 to trust in Him, to be in harmony 21:37 with God's plan so that 21:39 we too can see Him work in His time and in His way. 21:43 And the question really is, 21:45 are we going to trust God for that? 21:47 Are we going to look to God for that? 21:48 This is the question 21:50 that needs to be answered for us individually. 21:51 As we look in the lesson study this quarter, 21:54 as we look at this lesson in Deuteronomy, 21:56 we need to recognize the difference 21:58 between God's perfect will and God's permissive will 22:01 Amen. 22:02 We need to recognize the difference between 22:05 what God allows and what God wants for us. 22:08 And we need to recognize that 22:09 because we need to recognize that a lot of the things 22:11 that have taken place on planet Earth are our fault, 22:14 not God's fault. 22:16 And He wants us to recognize that 22:18 all He's ever wanted for us, 22:20 every single moment of every single day 22:22 is only good. 22:23 He's only ever wanted us to be blessed. 22:26 He's only ever wanted us to experience 22:28 what He originally created us for. 22:30 And that revelation is given to us 22:33 as we close out the Book of Revelations, 22:36 we close out the Bible as we look in Revelation 21, 22, 22:39 probably the most neglected chapters 22:41 in the Book of Revelation, if not, in the whole Bible. 22:43 That remind us that this book, this Book of Revelation, 22:47 and this Book of the Bible ends with God doing His will, 22:52 in His way, at His time 22:54 and restoring us completely. 22:55 So there's no more pain, there's no more sorrow, 22:58 there's no more evil, all of it has passed away. 23:01 And now we can trust completely 23:03 and totally for all eternity in the goodness, the grace, 23:06 the love of a Heavenly Father who created us to enjoy nothing 23:10 but good and to have no experience with evil. 23:13 So I love it. I love this study. 23:15 I love the theme. 23:16 I love everything that God is telling us here, John, 23:19 because it's so powerful, it's so beautiful. 23:20 Because it points us to rely upon God 23:23 and trusting Him and to look for Him to do 23:24 what He's promised in His time and in His way. 23:27 Amen. Okay, well. 23:28 Thank you, James. Praise the Lord. 23:31 I was just absorbing that as you were unfolding that 23:35 it was almost like a history lesson. 23:37 Looking at God's providence 23:38 through many of those who followed Him in the word. 23:42 We're going to take a short break, 23:43 don't go away. 23:44 We'll be right back. 23:50 Ever wish you could watch 23:51 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again 23:53 or share it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter? 23:57 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com, 24:02 a clean design makes it easy to find the program 24:05 you're looking for. 24:06 There are also links to the adult Bible study guide 24:10 so you can follow along. 24:11 Sharing is easy. 24:13 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 24:16 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:20 Welcome back to my second week's lesson 24:22 study about the history of Moses. 24:25 And we're going to turn this time over to Jill. 24:27 Jill, take it away. 24:29 Thank you, Pastor John 24:30 and Pastor James, incredible study. 24:32 I love it. 24:33 On Tuesday, we look at thousand times more numerous. 24:36 Now Pastor James said 24:37 the first six verses of Deuteronomy 1, 24:40 I have Deuteronomy 1:9-18. 24:44 So we're going to take a look at that. 24:45 The lessons that we can learn, 24:47 the takeaways from Deuteronomy 1, 24:50 from the certain section. 24:51 And I'm really doing a threefold application. 24:54 Some of them apply to Moses this day. 24:56 Some apply to the New Testament church 24:58 and probably all of it applies to us here today. 25:03 So let's take a look at it. 25:04 I've divided into three sections, 25:06 the blessing and the problem, 25:08 the solution and the practical application. 25:12 So let's look at what the blessing was 25:14 and how that blessing created a problem for Moses. 25:17 Deuteronomy 1, this is verses 9-12. 25:21 "And I spoke to you at that time, saying..." 25:23 Moses is remembering back what had happened. 25:26 "I alone am not able to bear you. 25:29 The Lord your God has multiplied you, 25:32 and here you are today, 25:33 as the stars of heaven in multitude. 25:35 May the Lord God of your fathers 25:37 make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, 25:41 and bless you as He has promised you! 25:44 How can I alone bear your problems 25:47 and your burdens and your complaints." 25:49 So what's the blessing? 25:50 God is multiplying the people is that not so? 25:53 That is a blessing. 25:54 They are multiplying exponentially, 25:56 you could say. 25:58 And what's the problem? 25:59 Moses, God's servant, is overwhelmed. 26:03 The multiplication of the people 26:05 has overwhelmed God's leader. 26:08 Takeaway number one, you cannot do everything. 26:12 So seek help from other people. 26:15 Moses said, 26:16 "I alone am not able to bear it. 26:20 Genesis 218. 26:21 God knew that Adam could not bear it alone. 26:24 It is not good that man should be alone. 26:26 But I will make a helper for him. 26:29 Proverbs 18:1. 26:30 Now usually I quote, New King James Version, 26:32 but this is from the ESV. 26:34 It says, "Whoever isolates himself 26:37 seeks his own desire, 26:39 he breaks out against all sound judgment." 26:43 It is important that you 26:45 not try to do things by yourself. 26:47 You cannot bear everything alone. 26:49 Takeaway number two. 26:51 God alone brings blessings. 26:54 God alone brings the increase. 26:56 You notice Moses said, 26:57 "The, Lord, Your God has multiplied You." 27:01 Sometimes, we think we had something to do with a success. 27:05 We think in a prideful way, 27:07 we had something to do with the baptisms. 27:10 We had something to do 27:11 with the organizational structure of the church. 27:14 We had something to do 27:15 with the fact that souls are coming to know Jesus. 27:18 God's the one who did that. 27:20 God's the one who deserves the honor and glory, 27:22 I think about Nebuchadnezzar, 27:24 he kind of had a pride issue, did he not? 27:26 And then Daniel 4, remember Daniel 4:30. 27:31 Here's Nebuchadnezzar walking in the palace. 27:33 And what does he say? 27:34 The King said, this is Nebuchadnezzar, 27:36 "Is not this Great Babylon that I have built 27:41 for royal dwelling by my mighty power 27:44 and for the honor of my majesty." 27:46 The truth is we don't possess the power. 27:49 We don't possess the might. We don't accomplish anything. 27:53 God alone, He gets the glory. Takeaway number three. 27:57 When you're overwhelmed, 27:59 it's easy to think it's all on you. 28:03 Moses, what did he say in verse 12? 28:05 "How can I alone bear your problems?" 28:08 Was it on Moses? No. 28:09 But for whatever reason, 28:11 he thought it was resting on him, 28:13 "How can I bear your problems 28:15 and your burdens and your complaints?" 28:17 Sometimes, we criticize people who feel overwhelmed and think, 28:21 "Well, they're dealing with pride, 28:22 they need to whatever," 28:24 Sometimes, it's simply that they are overwhelmed. 28:26 And that's why they feel that way. 28:28 So that is the blessing was that the people were numerous. 28:31 And the problem was that Moses was overwhelmed. 28:34 Let's look at the solution. 28:36 In verses 13 and 14, we're in Deuteronomy 1:13-14. 28:41 "Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men 28:46 from among your tribes, 28:48 and I will make them heads over you." 28:50 This is an organizational structure been 28:53 put in place for the children of Israel. 28:56 "And you answered me," 28:57 this is the people, "and said, 28:58 'The thing which you have told us 29:00 to do is good.'" 29:01 Takeaway number four, 29:03 listen to Godly counsel and people 29:06 who care about you. 29:07 If you read the context of this, 29:08 you go back to Exodus 18, 29:10 is where the story is actually told and expressed. 29:13 And remember, Jethro, 29:14 Moses' father-in-law came to visit, 29:16 and he says, "Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. 29:19 You've been judging the people all day. 29:21 I've been sitting over in the corner 29:23 and I'm watching you and from dawn to late at night, 29:26 the people come before you 29:28 and you're getting weary with this." 29:31 So Moses' father-in-law Jethro 29:33 gave him sound counsel, gave him good advice. 29:38 So listen to godly counsel, and people who care about you. 29:41 Takeaway number five. 29:42 When selecting leaders for God's work, 29:45 don't just pick anybody. 29:48 You noticed there were three adjectives 29:50 that were used, were they're not? 29:52 Wise, understanding, and knowledgeable. 29:57 Don't just pick anybody. 30:00 Wise. 30:01 In Hebrew, it literally means 30:03 wise capable of making thoughtful 30:04 and godly choices. 30:06 But the same Hebrew word is used to describe Joseph. 30:09 The same Hebrew word is used to describe David. 30:13 The same Hebrew word 30:15 is used to describe Solomon 30:17 and actually several woman in the Old Testament as well. 30:20 So choose wise people. 30:23 Number two, choose understanding people. 30:26 Now the word understanding in Hebrew means to discern. 30:30 So choose people with great discernment. 30:33 If you're forming a church or a company or an organization 30:37 or any type of structure, 30:39 choose people with great discernment. 30:42 The same Hebrew word is used to describe Joseph as well, 30:45 this word discernment, the word wise and discerning 30:48 both use to describe Joseph. 30:50 And finally, the word knowledgeable 30:53 comes from the Hebrew word yada, 30:54 which means to know. 30:57 Choose people who have respect, people who are experienced, 31:02 people who know something. 31:06 Look at someone's qualifications 31:08 and their character 31:09 before selecting them for a task in God's work. 31:12 Sometimes, we just want to fill a task. 31:15 We say, "Okay, this person is living and breathing. 31:18 Sure, they can be the deaconess in church. 31:20 Sure, they can be an elder in church. 31:22 Sure, they can do whatever." 31:23 I love what pastor John says. 31:24 He said this for many years here at the church. 31:28 And hopefully, I remember this correctly. 31:29 If I don't, you can correct me. 31:31 There's no standards for fellowship, 31:34 there are standards for membership, 31:36 and high standards for leadership. 31:39 That is what Moses was doing with the people, 31:44 high standards for the leadership team 31:47 that he was selecting there. 31:49 Takeaway number six. Listen to leadership. 31:52 You know, the children of Israel, 31:53 how did they answer Moses. 31:55 "The thing you said to do, it's very good, we will do it." 31:59 They could have balked, 32:01 and clearly, they balked other times, 32:02 but in this time they did not. 32:04 They could have questioned, 32:06 they could have come up with their own solutions. 32:08 But instead, they sat back 32:10 and they listened to leadership's counsel. 32:13 And they chose to honor it. 32:14 They chose to obey. 32:16 And that's something for us today 32:17 to honor and respect 32:20 those in authority over us. 32:24 Finally, we get to the practical application. 32:26 Let's read verses 15-18. 32:29 "So I took the heads of your tribes, 32:30 wise, and knowledgeable men, and made them heads over you, 32:33 leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, 32:36 leaders of fifties, leaders of tens, 32:38 and officers for your tribes. 32:40 Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, 32:42 'Hear the cases between your brethren, 32:45 and judge righteously between a man 32:47 and his brother or the stranger who is with him. 32:49 You shall not show partiality in judgment, 32:53 you shall hear the small as well as the great, 32:55 you shall not be afraid in any man's presence, 32:58 for the judgment is God's. 33:00 The case that is too hard for you, 33:02 bring to me, and I will hear it.' 33:04 And I commanded you at that time 33:06 all the things which you should do." 33:07 Takeaway number seven. 33:09 Organization is divine. 33:11 God ordained it with the children of Israel 33:13 making leaders over the thousand 33:15 and the hundreds and the fifties. 33:17 God ordained it in the New Testament Church, 33:19 we saw this with the disagreement 33:22 between the Hellenists and the Hebrews 33:23 if you read in the Book of Acts, 33:25 and the widows felt like they were being overlooked. 33:28 And God ordained deacons 33:30 to step in and to fill that gap, 33:32 and help fill that 33:33 organizational need that they had. 33:35 Some people say it quenches the spirit to be organized. 33:38 But really, it's divine. 33:40 Takeaway number eight. 33:42 Know when to pass the buck. 33:44 Do you notice Moses said, 33:46 "The case that is too hard for you, 33:48 bring it to me, and I will judge it." 33:50 You don't have to know everything. 33:52 You don't have to do everything. 33:54 Know when it's too hard. 33:56 And you need to pass something on. 33:58 And finally, takeaway number nine. 34:00 Listen to instruction. 34:03 Moses said I commanded you with that time, 34:05 all of the things which you should do. 34:08 Listen to what your job entails, 34:09 and do it to the best of your ability. 34:11 Proverbs 1:8, "My son, 34:13 hear the instruction of your father, 34:17 and do not forsake the law of your mother." 34:19 So what we see here at 34:21 the very beginning of Deuteronomy, 34:22 Moses reminding of the people 34:24 of the organization of structure 34:26 that took place years 34:28 before there for the children of Israel, 34:29 and there's so many lessons that we can learn for us today. 34:33 Amen and amen. That's wonderful. 34:34 I always love your lessons, Jilly. 34:37 I have Wednesday's lesson, which is Kadesh Barnea. 34:42 And this was an encampment site for Israel in the wilderness. 34:47 And what happened at Kadesh Barnea 34:51 was the immediate setting or background 34:54 for the Book of Deuteronomy. 34:56 We're supposed to go through Deuteronomy 1:20-46. 35:01 I'm not going to read it, we won't get through it. 35:04 But this is recounting 35:06 the story of numbers 14. 35:10 Let me just say this. 35:12 Israel had a special relationship with the Lord 35:15 because they were children of Abraham. 35:19 And God chose Israel. 35:23 And He made them a covenant nation. 35:28 He declared them to be 35:32 His first covenant son. 35:36 They were the firstborn son of God 35:38 is what Exodus 4:22-23 says. 35:43 So what does he do? 35:45 He accompanies them through the wilderness, 35:48 by fire at night, 35:50 by that camp pillar of cloud during the day. 35:53 And now they get to the edge of the Promised Land. 35:57 And Moses tells them, "Go up, go into the Promised Land, 36:02 God has promised it to you." 36:03 But what are the people do? 36:05 "Just a second. 36:07 Well, we'd like to test this ourselves." 36:10 And so they want to send in some spies. 36:13 Well, obviously Moses had have taken this 36:16 to the Lord and he approved. 36:18 And what they do. 36:21 Numbers 13 shows that God says, "Okay, send up the spies." 36:25 So he chooses one spy from every tribe. 36:28 The 12 spies go into the Promised Land, 36:33 and then they come out. 36:35 Guess what they say, 10 of them. 36:37 They're faithless. 36:39 And boy, I'll tell you what. 36:41 They're saying, 36:43 "Oh, the walls are like up to the heavens, 36:46 the man are like giants, 36:49 we were about grasshoppers in our own eyes." 36:53 They had the grasshopper identity syndrome. 36:56 And that's my first takeaway. 36:58 If we don't know who we are in Christ, 37:01 we too will have 37:03 the grasshopper identity syndrome. 37:05 So Caleb and Joshua, 37:07 I'm going to read from Numbers 13. 37:11 Caleb and Joshua trying to quite the people 37:15 because they are the two faithful spies. 37:19 And they said, 37:20 "Let us go up at once and take possession, 37:23 for we are well able to overcome it." 37:26 See, God had redeemed them, 37:28 he performed miracles among them, 37:31 he guided them by fire and by cloud. 37:34 And as he directed them in the past, 37:37 Caleb and Joshua knew 37:39 he would direct them in the future. 37:42 But the people again sprang the Lord. 37:45 Actually, this is the tenth time 37:49 that they wouldn't trust His promises. 37:53 They wouldn't trust His power. 37:56 They had a complete lack of faith in God. 37:59 They assume the worst about God, 38:02 "Oh, you brought us out here in the desert to die 38:05 by the sword in our children, 38:07 you're going to kill our children." 38:09 They were so agitated, 38:12 that they were ready to replace Moses. 38:15 They wanted a new leader. 38:17 And that's going to be my second takeaway 38:23 is that their fear and depression 38:27 can cause us to focus on negative circumstances 38:31 rather than looking for God in it to deliver us. 38:36 But also, rebellion can cause us to reject 38:41 and humiliate God's chosen leader. 38:44 Now so what happens? 38:48 Moses and Aaron, they fall down on their face, 38:51 humbling themselves before the Lord 38:53 at the entrance to the temple. 38:55 Joshua and Caleb teared their clothes. 38:58 Numbers 14:7-10. 39:00 They say, "The land we passed through to spy out 39:03 is an exceedingly good, exceedingly good land. 39:06 If the Lord delights in us, He will bring us into the land, 39:10 he'll give it to us, 39:11 'a land which flows with milk and honey.' 39:16 Only do not rebel against the Lord, 39:19 nor fear the people of the land, 39:21 for they are our bread, 39:24 their protection has departed from them, 39:26 and the Lord is with us. 39:29 Do not fear them.'" 39:31 The congregation wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb 39:35 and God intervenes, boy, 39:36 there's kind of glory of God, appears at the tabernacle. 39:41 And all of them saw it. 39:43 So he kept him from stoning them. 39:46 But God took very seriously there rebellion 39:50 and He justifiably threatened 39:54 to destroy the faithless and start over again. 39:57 In numbers 14:11-12. 40:00 He says, "How long will these people reject me? 40:04 And how long will they not believe me, 40:08 with all the signs 40:10 which I have performed among them? 40:12 I will strike them 40:13 with the pestilence and disinherit them, 40:16 and I will make of you," 40:18 he's speaking to Moses, 40:20 "a nation greater and mightier than they." 40:23 Boy, this is the same situation 40:25 you were talking about earlier in Exodus 32, 40:28 where Moses now has to intervene. 40:31 I mean, God is saying, "Hey, we'll start over. 40:34 Let me get rid of these." 40:35 I think he was testing Moses. 40:37 But He basically told Moses, 40:41 "I'll start over with you and make a people out of you," 40:44 just like he'd started with Abraham. 40:46 But Moses intervenes, 40:49 not only on behalf of the rebellious nature 40:52 but on behalf of God's reputation. 40:56 Listen to what he says, "If you do this, 40:59 look at how you appear in the eyes of the Egyptians 41:02 and the other nations, 41:03 these nations are going to think 41:05 you don't have the power 41:06 to fulfill your promises to your people. 41:09 Moses knew that God's glory 41:12 was at stake in this crisis. 41:16 See, everything God did for Israel 41:20 was to be a blessing to humanity as a whole. 41:25 The love and power and salvation 41:27 that God had demonstrated to Israel 41:33 was supposed to be a witness 41:36 to the other people at the time. 41:38 So Moses intercedes, and I love this. 41:41 I just love this. 41:43 In Numbers 14:17-19, you know how he begins his prayer. 41:48 He's reminding the lord of his own words, 41:51 the God's Word does not return, boys. 41:54 He says to the Lord, in verse 17, Numbers 14:17. 41:59 "Now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, 42:02 just as You have spoken." 42:04 "Lord, now he's going to remind you, he's quoting. 42:07 "The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, 42:10 forgiving iniquity and transgression, 42:13 but He by no means clears the guilty," 42:19 and then he goes on in verse 19. 42:20 He says, "Pardon the iniquity of this people, 42:24 I pray, according to the greatness of your mercy, 42:27 just as you have forgiven 42:28 this people from Egypt until now." 42:33 Now this is the tenth time 42:36 they've murmured against the Lord. 42:38 He repeatedly responded with patience and grace. 42:43 But guess what his longsuffering patients 42:45 had come to an end. 42:47 In spite of His love, His justice, His righteousness, 42:52 would not allow Him 42:53 to let the guilty go unpunished. 42:55 So He passes down the judgment on this first generation, 43:01 everybody that was 20 and older. 43:05 It's interesting, 43:07 if they were 19 or under, he didn't. 43:10 But here's what he says to them. 43:12 He judged the rebellious people 43:15 according to their own words. 43:17 Ooh, listen to this. 43:19 Numbers 14-28. 43:21 He says, say to them, 43:24 as I live, says the Lord, 43:27 just as you've spoken in my hearing, 43:30 so I will do to you. 43:32 Boy, is their take away there? 43:34 Their concept place of stiff-necked rebellion, 43:38 where there's a point of no return, 43:41 they'd reached that. 43:43 And God, they had murmured against Him, 43:47 they'd accused Him of the worst. 43:49 And His verdict was, 43:51 "All right, you're going to get one year for each day 43:54 that you spied out 40 days 43:57 that you spied out the wilderness. 43:59 Now there's going to be 40 years of wandering. 44:03 And he says, "And nobody 20 44:07 and over, is going to go..." 44:09 "Anybody that was old enough to understand, 44:12 anybody that was murmuring against God, 44:14 and saying the worst of Him, 44:16 they would not enter into the Promised Land." 44:21 And like you mentioned James. 44:24 The funny thing is, now Moses tells them, 44:28 "Nope, don't go up to the Promised Land." 44:30 The people are going, "Oh, wait, we'll go, we'll go." 44:33 You know? 44:34 Now they go against God's Word again, 44:36 go up to the Promised Land, 44:38 and they're routed just like God had told them 44:40 because it wasn't... 44:42 They still weren't going to obey what they wanted to do. 44:46 They're just arrogantly defying the Lord 44:49 and they just didn't want that judgment on them. 44:54 All right, thank you so much. 44:56 Thursday's lesson is entitled The Iniquity of the Amorite. 45:00 And of course, this is a building 45:02 from what we've discussed so far through 45:03 this historical lesson of Moses. 45:07 But it's quite interesting because Thursday's lesson, 45:09 the major point of it is 45:10 dealing with a very touchy subject, 45:12 one that many people have questions about, 45:14 in fact, many people choose 45:15 not to believe in the validity of Scripture 45:17 and choose not to serve God 45:19 because of some of the things 45:20 we're going to discuss in Thursday's lesson. 45:22 So let's kind of set this up. 45:23 So basically, what we're seeing through Deuteronomy 2 and 3. 45:27 We just came out of Deuteronomy 1. 45:29 Now we're in Deuteronomy 2 and 3, 45:31 and Moses continues to recount 45:33 the Israelite history of how with, 45:35 of course, of God's blessing, 45:37 they're going through this area, 45:39 from nation to nation. 45:40 And as, you know, 45:41 because they were faithful to God, 45:43 God's delivering these people into their hands. 45:45 And so even over giants, 45:46 and we see record of this in Deuteronomy 3:13. 45:50 So notice what Deuteronomy 3:13 says, 45:52 it says, "The rest of Gilead, 45:54 and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, 45:56 I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. 45:58 All the region of Argob, 46:00 with all Bashan, was called the land of the giants." 46:04 So we see that God is so faithful, 46:06 He's got His people. 46:07 And you would think by now that 46:09 they would trust in the Lord right there, 46:10 they should trust in God 46:12 because God has even delivered them 46:13 through the land of the giants, right? 46:16 But this leads us to an even more interesting question 46:20 and something we at least need to touch on. 46:22 And that's the fact that in the process of going through 46:26 these lands and encountering all these people... 46:28 Of course, God would always instruct them first 46:30 to bring a message of peace. 46:32 And so they would address, 46:34 you know, these nations through, 46:37 you know, peace offering of some kind 46:39 or try to establish peace 46:40 but many of these paganistic nations 46:44 simply would not receive that offer. 46:46 And of course, when they would not, 46:48 you know, come within, you know, 46:50 respond positively to that offer, 46:53 we have to deal with that history, 46:54 which is the fact that they would go in, 46:56 and they would destroy everyone, 46:58 man, woman, and child. 47:01 We see record of this in Deuteronomy 2:33 and 34. 47:05 Notice what it says here. 47:06 Deuteronomy 2:33 and 34. 47:09 It says, "And the Lord our God delivered him over to us, 47:13 so we defeated him, his sons, and all his people. 47:16 We took all his cities at that time, 47:19 and we utterly destroyed the men, women, 47:22 and little ones of every city, 47:25 we left none remaining." 47:28 And these are texts, 47:31 we see records of these things throughout 47:33 some of the Old Testament Scriptures, 47:35 and especially in dealing with this historical record 47:38 of how God is bringing the people 47:40 into this Promised Land, 47:41 and they're having to face these challenges. 47:43 You know, I know people who just discount this, 47:46 some people just look at and say, 47:47 "Oh, you know what, we can't even trust 47:49 the validity of these texts." 47:50 Some people deny that this record even exists like 47:52 this is all made up, that this really didn't happen. 47:54 And these are questions 47:55 because they don't have answers to this. 47:57 So they just downright reject the record of this. 47:59 But nonetheless, 48:00 I don't think that that's a sufficient answer. 48:02 If we are true Bible Christians, 48:03 we have to face reality that these things did happen. 48:06 It's just simply not an acceptable answer. 48:08 Because if we believe in the promises of God's Word, 48:12 and we believe in the council's 48:13 I think of 2 Timothy 3:16, 48:16 which tells us that all scripture is given 48:18 by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, 48:21 for reproof, for correction, 48:23 for instruction in righteousness. 48:26 So all scripture that means even the tough text, 48:29 even the tough passages that 48:30 we read about that is inspired by God, 48:33 that record was given by God. 48:35 And, yes, these events really did happen. 48:36 So how do we reconcile this in our mind? 48:39 You know, oftentimes, 48:40 there's not an explicit clear-cut answer. 48:42 That is sufficient for everyone. 48:44 But I believe we can find some understanding, 48:47 even in other texts found in the scripture. 48:49 If we go back to the Abrahamic Covenant. 48:50 Let's go to Genesis 12, excuse me, Genesis 15. 48:55 Let's go to Genesis 15. 48:57 The study wants us to read verses 1-16. 48:59 For lack of time, we're not going to read 49:01 all of these verses, 49:02 but I do want us to pick up in verse 12. 49:04 So we're again in Genesis 15. 49:06 I'm going to start reading in verse 12. 49:07 And then we're going to work our way to verse 16. 49:09 Verse 16 holds an interesting truth 49:12 there that kind of sheds some light 49:13 on this issue of going in and having to deal 49:16 with these pagan hedonistic nations 49:21 that simply were just flooded in iniquity. 49:24 And so what we find there, 49:26 Genesis 15, beginning with verse 12. 49:28 It says, "Now when the sun was going down, 49:30 a deep sleep fell upon Abram, 49:32 and behold, horror 49:33 and great darkness fell upon him. 49:35 Then He said to Abram, 49:36 'Know certainly that your descendants 49:39 will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, 49:42 and will serve them, 49:44 and they will afflict them 400 years.'" 49:46 As the speaking of the Egyptian bondage. 49:48 But then notice verse 14 onward. 49:49 It says, "And also the nation whom they serve I will judge, 49:52 afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 49:56 Now as for you, 49:58 you shall go to your fathers in peace, 50:01 you shall be buried at a good old age." 50:03 This is verse 16. 50:05 "But in the fourth generation they shall return here," 50:09 and then notice this interesting detail, 50:11 "for the iniquity of the Amorites 50:13 is not yet complete." 50:16 Rather interesting, this kind of brings me back 50:19 also to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. 50:21 They had reached the point of no return, right? 50:25 And this is what reminds me of this, 50:27 you know, why did God 50:28 allow some of these horrible things to happen. 50:30 And again, many people shake the fist at God. 50:32 "Oh, you're not a God that I want to serve 50:34 because you allow, you know, the lives of innocent children 50:37 and women and families to be taken." 50:38 But yet at the same time, 50:40 while there may not be an explicit answer, 50:42 we have record here that tells us that 50:44 the iniquity of these heathen nations, 50:46 they were so abundant, so overwhelming. 50:48 In fact, if you look at the history of this, 50:50 this goes all the way back 50:52 to from the descendants of Noah, obviously. 50:54 But it's interesting to go back 50:56 and read the descendants of Noah from Genesis 10, 50:59 Noah had three sons, it was Shem, Ham, 51:02 and Japheth. 51:03 Now if you read the records of those descendants 51:04 coming from those three sons, 51:06 the record of the descendants coming from Ham and Japheth, 51:09 many of those descendants 51:10 and those different tribes of people 51:12 that sprung out from Ham and Japheth ended up 51:15 becoming enemies of God's people. 51:17 And many of these nations that 51:19 they're having to fight, and they're having to destroy, 51:21 they're having to go through to get to this Promised Land 51:23 came from Ham, and Japheth. 51:25 And it's interesting when you read the record in Genesis 10, 51:27 you see Ham, of course, 51:28 begot got Cush, Cush begot Nimrod, 51:32 Nimrod, of course, the beginning of his kingdom, 51:33 as the scripture says, was babel. 51:35 And of course, a region of babel, 51:37 extending from that was Canaan, 51:39 the land of the Canaanites, and out of that in 51:42 with mixture of these heathen, sinful iniquity filled nations 51:47 was that of the Amorites. 51:49 So I go back to verse 16 there, "But in the fourth generation 51:51 they shall return here, 51:53 for the iniquity of the Amorites 51:54 is not yet completed." 51:56 There was something about these nations. 51:58 These were extreme, ruthless, and rebellious people, 52:03 the heathen of all heathens. 52:04 And so I believe that God gave them a chance, 52:06 just like as He did Nineveh, 52:08 Nineveh was a ruthless, barbaric people. 52:10 And God called them and, you know, fortunately, 52:13 Praise the Lord, they responded. 52:15 You know, they responded to the call of God, 52:17 and they repented, 52:18 and they were converted in many of these nations, 52:20 these heathen nations 52:22 that was not necessarily the case, 52:23 especially for the Amorites. 52:24 And then there's a message here though, out of this. 52:27 We have to say that sometimes 52:29 while we may not have the answer, 52:31 the direct answer, you know, 52:32 there's not an explicit text 52:33 that says, you know, God did this... 52:35 You know, that really satisfies the mind, 52:37 a lot of us still wonder, "Why God? 52:39 You know, was there no other way, Lord, 52:41 is there no other way that 52:42 you could have spared the lives of these little children, 52:45 really, God, children?" 52:46 And it's tough for us to deal with those things. 52:49 But nonetheless, 52:51 that's what faith is about, right? 52:52 As Pastor James, 52:54 just brought out so beautifully. 52:56 Trusting in God is 100% the central issue here. 53:01 In the lesson brings this out, 53:03 I have to read these verse because they're beautiful. 53:04 Faith isn't just about loving God 53:06 on a beautiful day in a pretty forest 53:08 full of wonderful sights and sounds. 53:11 It's also about, and I love this, 53:13 it's also about trusting in Him despite 53:15 where we don't fully understand. 53:18 You know, God, I don't understand 53:20 why you allow this to happen. 53:21 I don't understand why you're allowing me 53:22 to have to go through this, Lord. 53:24 You know, we often have those questions. 53:25 You know we hear people all the time say, 53:26 "Why does bad things happen to good people?" 53:28 I love Pastor Lomacang's response to that. 53:30 He says that's assuming that they're good people, right? 53:34 But we have these questions, "Lord, why do you..." 53:36 We never turn to the enemy and say, 53:39 "You know, why is the enemy... 53:40 You know, why is he doing this?" 53:41 Right? 53:43 He's the one responsible for all the bad things, not God. 53:45 But yet, we also tend to turn to God as, 53:47 "Lord, you didn't prevent it. 53:49 God, it's also your fault 53:50 because you could have stopped it." 53:51 You know, can we bring ourselves 53:53 to a point where we know who God is, 53:55 we're reminded of who he is that 53:57 we can trust in Him that 53:59 even when we don't fully understand. 54:01 "Lord, I don't know why You're allowing this to happen. 54:03 Lord, I don't know why You allow that 54:05 person's life to be taken. 54:06 I don't know why You're allowing this person 54:08 or those people are these, in this case, 54:10 these nations to be completely 54:11 wiped out destroyed, men, women, and child." 54:13 But can you trust that God's ways 54:16 are higher than our ways? 54:18 Isn't that what Isaiah 58:8 says? 54:20 It says, " For my thoughts are not your thoughts, 54:21 neither are your ways my ways," says the Lord. 54:25 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, 54:28 so are my ways higher than your ways 54:30 and my thoughts than your thoughts." 54:32 I'll just end with this point. 54:34 We may be faced with many opportunities 54:36 and reasons that will lead us to question the plans of God. 54:39 "God, I don't understand why in the world, 54:41 You let any of these bad things to go on. 54:43 I know You're not responsible God! 54:45 But You certainly sometimes allow them." 54:46 And other times He'll intervene. 54:47 Right? 54:49 You intervene sometimes and sometimes You don't. 54:50 We may have sufficient reasoning, 54:52 oftentimes that are presented for us 54:54 to question the plans of God. 54:56 But yet, we will never have sufficient reason to question 54:59 his goodness. 55:00 We serve a good God. 55:02 Can You trust Him even through the trial? 55:04 Even through the unknown? 55:06 That's the question of faith. 55:07 That's the test of faith. Amen. 55:09 Very good. Thank you, all of you. Wow! 55:11 Pastor James give me a summary of the day you covered. 55:14 Well, I think that one of the things is 55:16 really clear in these stories in Deuteronomy, 55:18 and in the history is that God is the God of hope. 55:22 Yeah, we despite our failures, those can be opened doors. 55:24 You know, we think about the 40 years in the wilderness, 55:27 you know, all those who over 20 died, 55:30 including Moses. 55:31 And Moses died because the last minute, 55:34 you know, he said that 55:35 we could blame it on the people 55:37 they're murmuring, they're complaining, 55:38 but yet Moses continued 55:39 to hope in spite of that big failure, 55:41 and guess what, God resurrected the peace 55:42 in heaven right now. 55:43 So we always have hope, despite our failures. 55:45 Amen. Amen. 55:47 Jill. Amen. Mine was on leadership. 55:49 And whether you're a leader or whether you're a follower, 55:52 the key is to know that God is the one in charge. 55:55 We depend on Him, we look to Him, we rely on Him. 55:59 And that God seeks to bring about 56:01 an organizational structure of men and women 56:04 who come together and help finish the work. 56:07 To me that's a beautiful picture, 56:09 what God wants to do at the end of time, 56:11 joining hands together, and sharing Jesus 56:13 with the lost and dying world. 56:15 Amen and amen. 56:16 I just want to repeat five takeaways from my lesson. 56:19 If we don't know who we are in Christ, 56:22 we're going to have the same grasshopper 56:24 identity syndrome they did. 56:26 Fear and depression can cause us to focus 56:30 on negative circumstances rather than hoping 56:32 in the Lord for deliverance. 56:34 Rebellion can cause us to reject 56:38 and humiliate God's chosen and faithful leaders. 56:42 There is a point of no return 56:44 for stiff-necked unbelieving people. 56:48 God's longsuffering mercy can come to an end 56:51 and He will deal out His righteous judgment. 56:55 But just as God intervened 56:59 to save faithful Joshua and Caleb, 57:02 they're the only 2 over 20 57:04 who went into the Promised Land, 57:06 He's going to intervene again at the end time. 57:10 Let this mind be in You, which is also in Christ Jesus. 57:13 Jesus said, "Lord, if there's any way, 57:15 this can pass of me," 57:17 all the bad things it's about 57:19 to happen to sinless Jesus, right? 57:21 He says, nevertheless, not my will but yours be done. 57:24 Have the mind of Jesus. 57:26 There's so much to cover 57:28 when we talk about the history of Moses. 57:30 He's given us five books 57:31 and the New Testament writers have quoted him many times 57:35 to remind us that learn from what happened. 57:38 You know, they said, 57:39 "Those who do not learn from the past 57:41 are bound to repeat it." 57:43 But I want to end with this point 57:45 as we get ready for the next lesson, 57:46 which is in fact, the everlasting covenant. 57:49 Lesson number three, remember these words, 57:52 one day we will all experience divine amnesia. 57:56 Hebrews 8:12, 57:58 "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, 58:01 and their sins and their lawless deeds 58:03 I will remember no more." 58:06 God bless you until we see you again. 58:08 Amen. |
Revised 2021-10-07